Freedom From Famine: The Norman Borlaug Story

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Dr. Norman Borlaug - The Hunger Fighter

Dr. Norman Ernest Borlaug, a plant breeder and Iowa native with farming roots, dedicated his life to fighting hunger around the world. A Nobel Peace Prize recipient, who is known as the father of the Green Revolution, Dr. Borlaug's remarkable story is one where science, research, and a deep respect for communities in the developing world ignited a global movement that would feed billions worldwide.

Dr. Borlaug's Green Revolution focused on building sustainable agricultural approaches so even the poorest of countries could produce food for their people. Today, the fight against hunger is far from over. In this in-depth documentary of Dr. Borlaug's life and accomplishments, we see that building upon, and expanding the work of Dr. Borlaug and his team of "hunger fighters," is more urgent than ever before.

Dr. Borlaug died in Dallas on September 12, 2009, one day after this documentary was completed. He had an opportunity to see a version of the documentary. The mission of this project is to educate viewers of all ages about the life, work, and views of Dr. Borlaug, and inspire others to follow in his footsteps to help bring food security to the world.

Field Guide to World Hunger

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For Educators

More than 1.2 billion people are starving around the world. 25,000 people die daily because of hunger-related issues.

To fight hunger we must look at sustainable solutions that cut across sectors and incorporate ideas from unconventional spaces. We also must inspire and engage the next generation of leaders committed to fighting hunger throughout their lives.

To address these needs, The Mathile Institute for the Advancement of Human Nutrition® launched the Hunger Fighters® movement. Inspired by the work of Nobel Laureate and father of the Green Revolution, Dr. Norman Borlaug, this initiative aims to attract and engage youth to tackle the issue of hunger in a meaningful and relevant way, and become Hunger Fighters® themselves.

The following featured materials have been developed especially for 9th-12th grade students and their teachers to help enable the discovery of the magnitude and complexity of world hunger as a social cause. Carefully designed to align with existing curricula requirements, both of these resources incorporate a multitude of disciplines such as science, social studies, genetics, human behavior, and more. Teachers can order or download these materials at no charge.

The Life & Times curricula kit includes a DVD containing the full Freedom from Famine: The Norman Borlaug Story documentary, a 19-minute program specifically developed to support classroom and Service-Learning initiatives and a CD containing all the educator and student guides and resources.

The Field Guide to World Hunger: Costa Rica includes the case study, educator and student guides as well as a supplemental information poster that provides additional interesting insights relevant to the case.

The Mathile Institute hopes that by studying the life and work of Dr. Borlaug and working through a multifaceted issue via the case study approach, students will gain the KNOWLEDGE to be better informed, have the chance to create their own INNOVATIVE solutions, and the opportunity to take ACTION in meaningful and relevant ways via Service-Learning. Service-Learning integrates students' academic learning with community needs.